Manufacturers Voluntarily Pull Cold Meds for Infants

Many leading manufacturers of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for infants were pulled from the market Thursday on the basis that the medicine could be misused by parents.
14 different products used to reduce congestion have been pulled from shelves nationwide. The decision comes two weeks after safety reviewers for the FDA urged the agency to ban the products for children under the age of 6.
The companies that make the pulled products say they are safe and effective when used properly, but there is a high risk of complications when misused in children under the age of 2.
There is little evidence that these products are effective in children and with this ban there is an increasing fear that the cold and cough products designed for infants may be dangerous. Pediatricians are recommending more traditional methods to calm sick infants such as suctioning out stuffy noses and using salt water drops.
A complete listing of the drugs being pulled can be found on startribune.com